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QuickBooks Tips, Tricks & FAVORITE Features
Copyright Copyright 2007 Intuit, Inc. All rights reserved.
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QuickBooks Tips, Tricks & FAVORITE Features
Greetings!
I hope you enjoy this wonderfully diverse collection of tips, tricks and favorite QuickBooks features, contributed by accountants across the country, most of whom are members of our Speakers Bureau, or Certified Trainer Network. We even have several current and former Accountant Advisory Council members contributing! It is my intention to let this document grow over time – please feel free to send me your favorite QuickBooks feature, or your best time-saving tip, and I will be glad to include it in the next edition. Please note that we left the tips using the original words and screen shots that the accountants themselves provided. I love that the different voices and personalities come through. Enjoy! Alison Ball Sr. Program Manager Accountant Training Network, Intuit Inc [email protected]
Here are some of my personal favorites, to get us started…
Control Y – when these keys are pressed on any Form in QuickBooks – ie: Sales Invoice, AP Bill, Check, etc., QuickBooks will show you the back-end Journal Entry, in debits and credits. This is very cool because some people still think that QB is not a double-entry accounting system, and this puts that to rest once and for all. It also helps an accountant (or user for that matter) figure out what the effect of their entry is, on the GL. Sometimes T-Accounts just don’t cut it! Drill down now available on Retained Earnings GL account – this helps the accountant troubleshoot any discrepancies between last years ending balances per the accountant, and this year’s beginning balances per the client. Close Period Exception report – this wonderful report helps the accountant see at a glance what the client posted after the period was closed – ie: it shows the times when clients entered in the close period password in order to over-ride the closed period. Always-on Audit Trail – self explanatory – users can no longer turn off the audit trail and then cover their tracks… Auto-created “Reconciliation Discrepancies” GL account – this new GL account gets auto-created whenever a user forces a bank reconciliation. Also - it lives on the P&L, rather than forcing the reconciliation discrepancy to the Opening Balance Equity account. This is HUGE, for accountants. Integration with Lacerte Smartmap – this very cool utility will save accountants a lot of time at tax time. In addition to providing a “safe place” to map the GL accounts to tax lines in Lacerte, it actually “learns” over time, making your successive tax returns a snap! Alison Ball, Intuit — 3 —
QuickBooks Tips, Tricks & FAVORITE Features
How to handle Accruals and Pre-Paids
I have found that using the journal entries to record those types of entries is the easiest method. Be sure to use the “Memorize General Journal” feature when you first prepay (or accrue) something; also have it expire in 12 months (assuming you are prepaying for a year). This way you will not have to remember to re-enter every month. Big time-saver. LeAnn M. Andrews, CPA Chico, CA [email protected]
My favorite feature with QuickBooks is the “Find” feature.
Sometimes we spend so much time trying to find where a transaction was posted or what happened to a transaction, that using “Find” gives us a quick answer. Also the “drill down” feature. So we can easily see what transactions are included in a total. Jayme Zublick, CPA Collier & Hagin, PA Ocala, FL [email protected]
My favorite is the F2 key…
…because it gives you so much information. Marilyn Sudbeck, CPA Lakewood,CO [email protected]
My favorite is the “undo last reconciliation” feature…
… it really helps when something doesn’t quite compute. Phil Warren, CPA Courses of Action, Inc. Chicago, IL [email protected] — 4 —
QuickBooks Tips, Tricks & FAVORITE Features
My favorite which becomes everyone’s favorite is the following sequence of key strokes:
1. Ctrl-L 2. Ctrl-E Using this sequence from just about any list field Customer Name on an Invoice or Item Code on an Invoice etc. Will allow the user to quickly see the details of the Customer or Item (or terms, payment method etc.) without leaving the window that user is in. It does not work with the Vendors List though – not sure why. Nathan Frankel, President Park Avenue Computer Consultants, Inc. Airmont, NY [email protected]
My favorite feature is the integration with Time Tracker.
With just a few clicks, I quickly download my field Consultants time, run time-based reports, pull their time into their Bills as well as auto-fill Invoices to my Clients. This was a very tedious process of re-entering their time before Time Tracker! Wayne “Dr QuickBooks” Greenfeld Wayne I Greenfeld LLC Reston VA [email protected]
My personal favorite that delights the new users all the time …
…is the different ways to change the date (you know, by using the +, -, T=today, MontH, YeaR etc...) Marc M. Poulin, CPA Poulin Financial Services, LLC, PA Portland, ME [email protected]
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QuickBooks Tips, Tricks & FAVORITE Features
My favorite feature… and all of my clients LOVE it too…
…are the “Client-Ready Payroll Reports.” Wow … I can not say enough good things about this export of payroll reports to Excel. The reports are formatted, easy to read, tabbed for reference, give both employee summary and detail information, as well as taxes accrued/paid and balances, as well as other important information for management (cost comparisons). Editors note - Note that you only get these reports with an Enhanced Payroll for Accountant Subscription and QuickBooks version 2007 or higher. LeAnn M. Andrews, CPA Chico, CA [email protected]
One of my favorites is the ability to epay the payroll taxes…
… and being able to setup the payroll liabilities. This is a nice feature when your clients want to be able to pay their own taxes. Christine Bailey Small Office Solutions Daphne, AL [email protected]
I think it’s cool how well QuickBooks Integrates with Microsoft Word.
Using the Layout Designer only goes so far for customizing QuickBooks forms. Using QuickBooks data fields and Word functionality gives me the ultimate combo for high-impact branded communications. Dante Layton Dante Layton, Inc. Pasadena, CA [email protected]
It never fails to impress my clients…
…when I show them the advanced features of exporting reports to Excel. The Auto-outline always gets a “Wow.” The Sort feature does not get quite the same reaction, but definitely provides a useful feature when exporting lists of sales, or inventory reports. Pat Carson Carson & Crew San Jose, CA [email protected] — 6 —
QuickBooks Tips, Tricks & FAVORITE Features
One of the things that is very little but never ceases to amaze people…
… is that they can press the letter T in a date field and get to “Today”. Or use letters like M/H or Y/R to go forward and back through months and years. Caren Schwartz Time & Cents Consultants, LLC Southport CT [email protected]
I find it amazing to start with a Sales Order (single entry)…
…and you can crank out an invoice, purchase order and, from the po, the bill. Time saving and efficient. Christine Galli, Accounting Resource, LLC Farmington Hill, MI [email protected]
One of the coolest things is importing credit card transactions.
I would say this saves me time, but I have so much fun doing it I may check too often when transactions are not there. This is really a great time saver! David W. Aucoin, CPA Kenner, LA [email protected]
Ctrl-Y
Accountants love this every time I show it during a seminar; you get to see the ‘behind the scenes’ or journal entry of any QB transaction; it’s a hotkey for running a Transaction Journal. ‘T’ for today in date fields, or any of the date hotkeys – invariably, this gets lots of oohs and ahhs when I show it to clients or in a seminar F2 – shows crucial QB information. Mario Nowogrodski, CPA.CITP Mendelson Consulting, Inc South Florida, FL [email protected] — 7 —
QuickBooks Tips, Tricks & FAVORITE Features
Did you know that the QuickBooks interface is simple, and remains almost unchanged?
You can learn from the videos and use it yourself, reduce the costs of “highly qualified” staff since a BS in Accounting isn’t needed to be effective, and see the same interface as you migrate from the entry-level sub-$100 software all the way to the Enterprise level multi-thousand dollar software. Hart Singh QBPro-fessor, LLC Livingston, NJ [email protected]
Here are two of my favorites:
The memorized feature: I tell trainees/clients to think through something once, then memorize it. I set up a new section of the memorized reports list named “David’s Special Reports” to put the reports that David wants to see. They love the “view” feature. The pop-up calculator: the calculator that pops up when you are on an amount cell by hitting a calculator function key (-+/*) then clicking enter puts the result in that field. Paula A. White, CPA Encinitas, CA [email protected]
Accountant’s Copy 2008…
…now allows substantially more activity and even highlights what changes will be transferred back to the client’s file. Before 2008, we were extremely limited in what we could do in an Accountant’s Copy. Now it’s a whole new ballgame. The most impressive addition is the shading of fields on the screen. In 2008, the accountant knows that if they enter data in a shaded field, it will transfer…and if it’s not a shaded field, then it won’t. All the guesswork is now eliminated. Liz Alexander, CPA Arlington, TX [email protected]
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QuickBooks Tips, Tricks & FAVORITE Features
It is very cool to have a management meeting…
…and show the financials with drill down capabilities. A P&L for a monthly or quarterly time slice, then expanded or collapsed. Any questions and be answered immediately with the drill down capability. Bruce Andersen, MBA, MS(Tax), CPA BTA Consulting and Training Woodland Hills, CA [email protected]
I love the Loan Manager!
My clients that have car notes or bank loans love this feature because they don’t have to figure out principal/interest each month. Stacy Kildal Kildal Services, LLC Waterford, MI [email protected]
I like the Financial Statement Designer
(Even though it is not in all versions). The ability to make the financials look like you want rather than out of the box, along with the ability to drill down to transactions and merge accounts. I think this is a great tool and it is very underutilized. David Maher, PB GG Technologies Cookeville, TN [email protected]
Working too hard and have too many windows open within QuickBooks?
Snap all of them shut in a hurry - in the menu bar, click Window, then Close All. QuickBooks will instantly close all open windows (and ask you to save any transactions in process). For more tips: http://www.betterbottomline.com/archives.html Scott Gregory, CPA Bottom Line Accounting Solutions, LLC Willoughby Hills, OH [email protected] — 9 —
QuickBooks Tips, Tricks & FAVORITE Features
Entering Debit Card Purchases into QuickBooks
A question my clients ask me often is “how do I enter debit card purchase into my QuickBooks file?” What is stumping them is that on the Write Checks screen, what do they put in the check # field? The initial reaction of some clients is to put the reference # or approval # from their debit card receipt in that field. NO NO NO! Don’t do that - not only is it a giant waste of time typing in all those #’s but it will make reconciling your account (you do reconcile, right?) a nightmare!
When entering items into your bank accounts (checking, savings, etc) the check # field above (the field next to “No.”) can be used very effectively if you develop and use a concise list of codes for the different types of transactions that you have. Here is the list of codes that I use for my own books and all my clients’ books: (the actual check # used) = check DC = debit card purchase DD = direct deposit transactions (direct deposit paychecks to your employees, etc). EFT = electronic funds transfer (items that come out of your bank account either electronically, automatically, or both). Examples of this would be electronic payments of payroll taxes, bank fees, automatic telephone or utility payments, etc. BP = bill payments made with online banking TX = a transfer between bank accounts if the receiving bank account is not a bank account that is tracked in your QB file. To record a transfer between bank accounts in the same QB file us the Transfer Funds function located under the banking menu. An example of when you would use the TX code would be when the owner of a sole-prop or a shareholder of an S-Corp transferred funds from the company bank account to their personal account. The actual transaction occurred with a transfer of funds online or via the phone. Use of the code “TX” will help track that. Continued on page 11 — 10 —
QuickBooks Tips, Tricks & FAVORITE Features
WD = a withdrawal from the bank account. Use this code when in-branch withdrawals are made or the bank makes an adjustment to your account. ATM = an ATM withdrawal from the bank account. Use this code when monies are withdrawn from the account via the ATM machine. ADJ = an adjustment that you make to your bank balance. This code should not be used very often, if at all! The codes above ARE case-sensitive in that you need to be consistent. Either use all caps (DC) or all lower case (dc) on ALL the entries. Don’t mix using upper and lower case. Doing so will cause QB to sort your entries incorrectly in the Reconcile window. Using consistent codes will help you in reconciling in that QB will group all the like codes together in the Reconcile window by ascending date. Reconciling your account will be much easier when you can easily find the transactions in your reconcile window to match to your bank statement. Cathi Aiello Allegro Accounting, Inc. www.allegroaccounting.com
Moving an Applied Credit to a Different Invoice
You can change the invoice to which a credit was applied. This task requires several steps, but if you follow the instructions a step at a time, it’s not as complicated as it seems. • Open the invoice to which you applied the credit. • Click the History button at the top of the transaction window to display the list of all transactions linked to this invoice. • Click the listing for the credit you want to change, and click Go To, to open the original credit transaction. • Change the customer name to another customer. It doesn’t matter which customer you choose because you’re going to change it back (I’ve always had a customer named House to use for occasions like this and for other “tests” I want to run). • Click Yes in any warning dialogs QuickBooks displays about the results of making this change. Now you’ve destroyed the link between the credit and the invoice to which it was originally applied. (QuickBooks returns you to the original invoice window, where the credit no longer appears in the History dialog.) • Open the credit transaction you just moved to another customer. (You can select the credit from the other customer’s history by selecting the customer in the Customer Center and displaying transactions.) • In the Create Credit Memos transaction window, change the customer name back to the original customer name. • When you save the transaction, QuickBooks offers choices for applying this credit. Choose the right invoice.
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QuickBooks Tips, Tricks & FAVORITE Features
Applying Additional Credits to a Vendor Bill After Paying the Bill
After entering a credit and applying it to a vendor’s bill, you create the check in the Pay Bills transaction window. Then you realize you need to add more credits to the bill. After voiding the check, the credit already applied to the bill disappears, and it seems as if you can’t apply it. What’s going on? When you create a credit for a vendor, and then use the Pay Bills window to apply the credit, the resulting check is for the net amount. For example, if the original bill is $1000.00, and you apply a credit of $100.00, the check amount is $900.00 after you use the Set Credits feature to apply the credit you created. To add more credits after you void the check, open the Enter Bills window, select the Credit option at the top of the window, and enter another credit for this vendor (for this example, $100.00). You’ve now applied a total of $200.00 credits to this vendor, and the vendor had originally submitted a bill of $1000.00, so you should only have to pay the vendor $800.00. When you open the Pay Bills window, the bill listing that appears for this vendor is for $900.00, not the original $1000.00. That first $100.00 credit has been “absorbed” into the current balance due. If you select the bill’s listing and click Set Credits, you’ll see the second $100.00 credit you created. The window also displays the bill’s “history” the original amount, the first credit, and the current balance due. The current balance due should equal the original amount less the original credit that was applied. Just apply the second credit to change the new balance due. The net amount of the check will be mathematically correct – you just don’t see the individual listing for the credit you originally applied, because it’s been taken into account for this bill. If you really want to start over and enter all the available credits just before paying the original bill, you could void the original credit transaction after voiding the check. But that’s extra work, and unnecessary, because QuickBooks is tracking the net amounts. (If you select the Vendor’s listing in the Vendor Center you see a list of all the transactions, including the bill, the original credit, and the additional credits.)
Invoice Postings
To see which accounts received postings from an invoice, open the invoice and press Ctrl-Y to open a transaction journal that displays the account postings for every line in the invoice as well as sales tax. If you’re using Premier Accountant Edition, there’s an icon named Journal on the invoice window that does the same thing. Editors Note: The previous three tips are reprinted here with express permissions from www.cpa911.com, a QuickBooks information site maintained by CPA911 Publishing, LLC, publisher of Running QuickBooks in Nonprofits and Running QuickBooks Premier Editions. We thank Kathy for her generosity in sharing these tips with us. J
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QuickBooks Tips, Tricks & FAVORITE Features
My tip is about teaching QuickBooks to my clients:
When I teach QuickBooks, I always start with the tool bar from left to right and go through each menu item. For example I start with File - the first item under “File” is “New Company”, so I explain to my students when and why you would want to start a new company file versus using/keeping the current one. Then I do the same with Open, Restore, Backup. I teach how important it is to make back ups and give examples of clients that did not make backup and how devastating it was for them when they lost all of their data and hard work. Then I go into how restoring is just the opposite of backing up, and show them the actual steps, etc. I do this with each menu item including the preferences. These seem to work well as it gives the student a quick overview of all of the features and functionality in the program and how to access them. I then share with them the shortcuts, icons, navigators, etc. and explain to them that I teach from the toolbar because they may end up on a computer that doesn’t have the shortcut icons on the tool bar. I then walk them through the Easy Step Interview, which makes a little more sense to them at this point, since they now have seen where everything is and how they answer the questions in the interview will affect the way the program works for them. Sharon Vetsch The QuickBooks Queen Oak Lawn, IL [email protected]
My clients love that QuickBooks helps with the computation…
…by bringing down the unallocated amounts on the splits and that the previously used accounts appear with the “remember the last transaction” feature turned on. Another very simple feature is that the calculator can be engaged in any numerical field, just by using an operator key - this they are always surprised and excited about when I show them. Sometimes it’s the little things that make life simple! Elissa A Greeley ADOS Consulting, LLC San Jose, CA [email protected]
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QuickBooks Tips, Tricks & FAVORITE Features
Job Cost Reports, where do they come from?
Most accountants understand that the key financial statements come from the chart of accounts. Sometimes it is difficult to explain to people that when you are talking about job-cost reports, that the item list is really your “chart of accounts”. I find the attached “QuickBooks Blueprint” to be especially helpful in explaining this to contractors. It shows that the Job Cost reports are driven off the item list, while the balance sheet and income statements are driven off the chart of accounts.
QuickBooks Blueprint
Account|Customer/Job|Class
PAYCHECK
PAYROLL ITEM
BALANCE SHEET
ACCOUNT
TIMESHEET
ITEMS:
SERVICE NON-INVENTORY OTHER CHARGE SUB-TOTAL GROUP DISCOUNT PAYMENT SALES TAX SALES TAX GROUP INVENTORY
PROFIT &
ACCOUNT
LOSS OR INCOME STATEMENT
INVOICE
ITEM
CHART OF ACCOUNTS GENERAL LEDGER
MANY OTHER REPORTS
ITEM CHECK BILL ACCOUNT P.O.
Job Cost Reports
DEPOSIT
LISTS: VENDORS, EMPLOYEES, CUSTOMERS:JOBS(PROJECTS), CLASS
1997 E arle M cE wen M .A cc., C PA
Foreign Language Financial Statements:
Over the years I have worked with businesses that have owners that speak Spanish and have limited English skills. Did you know that you can put the account names in Spanish in the description box for each account and then go to preferences:reports and graphs:company preferences and check the button that says “Reports – Show Accounts by: description only and you will get a financial statement in Spanish! This is really cool!
Where are the debits and credits?
One of the most useful tips I have ever learned about QuickBooks is that on any document or transaction if you press Control-Y it will, show you the debits and credits behind the transaction. This is especially useful in trying to understand what is happening with things like inventory builds and invoices. Try it . .it is fantastic.
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QuickBooks Tips, Tricks & FAVORITE Features
Reconciling the Inventory Valuation Summary to the Inventory Account on the Balance Sheet:
Problem: The inventory account or accounts on the balance sheet do not agree with the inventory valuation per the Inventory Valuation Summary Report. This is a particularly challenging problem to resolve because there are so many things that might cause this problem. Here are the steps I follow to reconcile the Valuation Report to the Balance Sheet. 1) Double click on the inventory accounts in the balance sheet. Verify you are looking at accrual basis balance sheet for the entire period in question. Go to modify report and add the field “item” to the displayed fields in the report. Now review each line looking for transactions without items. Usually these are journal entries but they can also be bills. Transactions without items must not be posted to the inventory account because a transaction without an item does not affect the Inventory Valuation Summary Report. 2) Review the item list for inactive items that have quantities on hand. These should be reactivated so they will appear in the valuation summary. 3) Review each inventory adjustment transaction to be sure that an inventory account was not used in place of the cost of goods or an expense account in the adjustment account field. When this happens the item is adjusted off the Inventory Valuation Summary but is not removed from the inventory account in the General Ledger. 4) Review the item list account assignments to be sure that every inventory item type has the inventory account or accounts as its asset account and that this inventory account is not used in any other account fields. 5) Resort the item list. 6) Verify and then rebuild the company file. 7) Call QB Tech support if the above steps do not solve the problem. Editors note: The previous four tips were submitted by Earle McEwen – we thank him for being an over achiever. Earle McEwen, MACC CPA Boise, ID [email protected]
One of my favorite features is the “History” button…
…which lets you quickly trace a transaction back to several source documents. This is very helpful when I’m trouble shooting client problems. Hal Rosen, CPA Salt Lake City, UT [email protected]
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QuickBooks Tips, Tricks & FAVORITE Features
Tips for Cleaning Up Data Files:
• You may or may not know that when you cleaned up your company data in QuickBooks 05 and prior (through archive & condense) that the data file actually got smaller and therefore faster. • With the advent of QuickBooks 06 using an SQL database, the file size got larger, but operated more more efficiently. • If you try to clean up your company data in QuickBooks 06 or later, you may notice that file size does not decrease, in fact it may get larger! • The trick to keep your file as compact as possible, after you “clean up” your company data – create a portable company file. o Restore that portable company file. Note: it is a good idea to create and restore a portable company file on a regular basis to keep the file whole and healthy! MB Raimondi, CPA Trumbull, CT [email protected]
My coolest feature is Time entry in QuickBooks.
(Time sheets, Single entry, and even the QuickBooks Timer) It just saves so much time and effort and replaces so many spreadsheet hours! Mainly because it provides automated cost allocation with the payroll and vendor payments. But it also allows other employees to do the data entry relieving the bookkeeper of this responsibility (if they wish) and also because it provides meaningful information for my clients to manage their employees – more than they thought they were getting when they hired an “accountant”. Time sheets make me a hero at least once a week! Anna Sheets Accounting Made Simple Valparaiso, IN [email protected]
I think the most important change that really improved QuickBooks was the online banking.
If used properly it can save much time with complicated bank reconciliations. James C. Cavalaris, CPA Coral Gables, FL [email protected] — 16 —
QuickBooks Tips, Tricks & FAVORITE Features
Recording Payroll Processed by Outside Payroll Service
When payroll is processed by an outside payroll service, clients often need help with how to record the payroll in QuickBooks. This is an easy, familiar method for clients to enter the payroll—by writing a check.
• The check amount should be total net pay – it should match the amount withdrawn from checking. Enter gross wages (use multiple lines to allocate it to different accounts) • Enter the company’s payroll tax expense—FICA, Medicare, FUTA, & SUI • Enter the amount withdrawn from checking for payroll taxes as a negative amount with ‘checking’ as the account. • NOTE: If net pay and payroll taxes are withdrawn in one total amount, then the check amount should match the amount withdrawn from checking. If this is the case, do not enter payroll taxes withdrawn as a separate amount from checking in the expenses section. The goal is to match the actual amounts withdrawn from checking to make the bank reconciliation easy! Michelle L. Long, CPA, MBA M. Long Consulting, LLC [email protected] www.mlongconsulting.com Author of: Successful QuickBooks Consulting
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QuickBooks Tips, Tricks & FAVORITE Features
When You Have Accounts Receivable or Accounts Payable Balance on a Cash Basis Balance Sheet
So why exactly do you have an account’s receivable or payable balance on a QuickBooks cash basis balance sheet? Any of the following can be the cause: • A/P transactions have expenses or items posting to other balance sheet accounts. • Inventory items on an invoice or credit memo (typically inventory management should be done only in accrual basis reporting). • Transfers between balance sheet accounts. • Unapplied accounts payable vendor payments. • Unapplied accounts receivable customer payments. • Payments applied to future-dated vendor bills. • Customer payments applied to future-dated invoices. • Preferences that contradict each other. (This can happen if you selected cash basis on your summary reports, but accrual basis as your sales tax preference.) • Data corruption. To confirm this problem, select File, Utilities, and choose Verify Data. Now that we know what some of the causes are, let’s create a report to identify the individual transactions that make up this balance: 1. Click Reports, Company & Financial and select Balance Sheet Standard. See Figure 1.
Figure 1 Cash basis balance sheet with accounts payable balance. Continued on page 19 — 18 —
QuickBooks Tips, Tricks & FAVORITE Features
2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Select an As of date. If your Balance Sheet is not currently prepared in a Cash Basis (top left in Figure 1) on the report dialog, click the Modify Report button. The Display dialog opens, in the Report Basis pane select the Cash option, and then click OK to return to the report. With your cursor double-click the Accounts Payable (or Accounts Receivable) amount in question to open the Transactions by Account report. On the report dialog click the Modify Report button. The Display dialog opens, in the Report/Date Range pane remove the From date (leave it blank) and leave the To date as it defaulted (See Figure 2.) Click the Advanced button (lower right).
Figure 2 Remove the From date and click the Advanced button to filter the report for transaction status as of a specific date in the past. 9. 10. 11. Select the Report Date option from the Open Balance / Aging pane as shown in Figure 2 and then click OK to return to the display dialog. Click on the Filters tab, from the Choose Filters pane scroll down to select Paid Status and select the Open option for paid status. Click OK to return to the report and to look for transactions that fall into any of the categories described earlier. The Transactions by Account report (see Figure 3) shows several inventory transactions, one of the causes of accounts payable showing on a cash basis balance sheet.
Figure 3 The modified report identifies the individual transactions that are included in the accounts payable balance showing on a cash basis balance sheet. Continued on page 20 — 19 —
QuickBooks Tips, Tricks & FAVORITE Features
After reviewing the individual transactions you can identify the accounts that need to be adjusted to clear the Accounts Receivable or Accounts Payable balances on a cash basis prepared Balance Sheet. Did you know that you can also download this report to share with your clients? Go to www.quickbooksgroup.com and select “QB Library” on the left, and choose “Reports” and look under the “More Reports” section. This tip is brought to you by: Laura Madeira Owner, ACS, Inc. www.quick-training.com Author of QuickBooks Solutions Guide, for Business Owners and Accountants to be published November, 2007 by QUE Publishing.
My vote goes to the Open Windows List.
It takes up more real estate than it needs to but it’s a constant reminder to the client to use what’s open before recreating the wheel. Joe Limmer, MBA, ABA JCL Accounting Services, LLC St. Louis, MO [email protected]
I have two –
One that we CPAs love when used properly - the ability to go back as far as we wish to make changes (for the new clients that come aboard that have never had their books in order) and the ability to lock out the ability to make changes (but the flexibility to still make changes when we really need to) and that the use and value of this feature varies from client to client - but at least it is there. Then # 2 - The ability to merge names when nearly the same one has been set up over and over and over whether in the Chart of Accounts, Vendors, Customers or Items. This eliminates reclassifying journal entries and allows business owners to have their books orderly without showing all of the accounts that had to be merged or names that were not needed (i.e., the mistakes that were made because they weren’t working with a ProAdvisor!) Diana Crawford, CPA Crawford, Merritt & Company Snellville, GA [email protected]
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Copyright Copyright 2007 Intuit, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Trademarks Intuit, the Intuit logo, QuickBooks, QuickBooks Pro, Quicken, TurboTax, ProSeries, Lacerte, and QuickZoom, among others, are registered trademarks and/or registered service marks of Intuit, Inc. or one of its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries. Other parties’ trademarks or service marks are the property of their respective owners and should be treated as such. Notice To Readers The publications distributed by Intuit, Inc. are intended to assist accounting professionals in their practices by providing current and accurate information. However, no assurance is given that the information is comprehensive in its coverage or that it is suitable in dealing with a client’s particular situation. Accordingly, the information provided should not be relied upon as a substitute for independent research. Intuit, Inc. does not render any accounting, legal, or other professional advice nor does it have any responsibility for updating or revising any information presented herein. Intuit, Inc. cannot warrant that the material contained herein will continue to be accurate nor that it is completely free of errors when published. Readers should verify statements before relying on them
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QuickBooks Tips, Tricks & FAVORITE Features
Greetings!
I hope you enjoy this wonderfully diverse collection of tips, tricks and favorite QuickBooks features, contributed by accountants across the country, most of whom are members of our Speakers Bureau, or Certified Trainer Network. We even have several current and former Accountant Advisory Council members contributing! It is my intention to let this document grow over time – please feel free to send me your favorite QuickBooks feature, or your best time-saving tip, and I will be glad to include it in the next edition. Please note that we left the tips using the original words and screen shots that the accountants themselves provided. I love that the different voices and personalities come through. Enjoy! Alison Ball Sr. Program Manager Accountant Training Network, Intuit Inc [email protected]
Here are some of my personal favorites, to get us started…
Control Y – when these keys are pressed on any Form in QuickBooks – ie: Sales Invoice, AP Bill, Check, etc., QuickBooks will show you the back-end Journal Entry, in debits and credits. This is very cool because some people still think that QB is not a double-entry accounting system, and this puts that to rest once and for all. It also helps an accountant (or user for that matter) figure out what the effect of their entry is, on the GL. Sometimes T-Accounts just don’t cut it! Drill down now available on Retained Earnings GL account – this helps the accountant troubleshoot any discrepancies between last years ending balances per the accountant, and this year’s beginning balances per the client. Close Period Exception report – this wonderful report helps the accountant see at a glance what the client posted after the period was closed – ie: it shows the times when clients entered in the close period password in order to over-ride the closed period. Always-on Audit Trail – self explanatory – users can no longer turn off the audit trail and then cover their tracks… Auto-created “Reconciliation Discrepancies” GL account – this new GL account gets auto-created whenever a user forces a bank reconciliation. Also - it lives on the P&L, rather than forcing the reconciliation discrepancy to the Opening Balance Equity account. This is HUGE, for accountants. Integration with Lacerte Smartmap – this very cool utility will save accountants a lot of time at tax time. In addition to providing a “safe place” to map the GL accounts to tax lines in Lacerte, it actually “learns” over time, making your successive tax returns a snap! Alison Ball, Intuit — 3 —
QuickBooks Tips, Tricks & FAVORITE Features
How to handle Accruals and Pre-Paids
I have found that using the journal entries to record those types of entries is the easiest method. Be sure to use the “Memorize General Journal” feature when you first prepay (or accrue) something; also have it expire in 12 months (assuming you are prepaying for a year). This way you will not have to remember to re-enter every month. Big time-saver. LeAnn M. Andrews, CPA Chico, CA [email protected]
My favorite feature with QuickBooks is the “Find” feature.
Sometimes we spend so much time trying to find where a transaction was posted or what happened to a transaction, that using “Find” gives us a quick answer. Also the “drill down” feature. So we can easily see what transactions are included in a total. Jayme Zublick, CPA Collier & Hagin, PA Ocala, FL [email protected]
My favorite is the F2 key…
…because it gives you so much information. Marilyn Sudbeck, CPA Lakewood,CO [email protected]
My favorite is the “undo last reconciliation” feature…
… it really helps when something doesn’t quite compute. Phil Warren, CPA Courses of Action, Inc. Chicago, IL [email protected] — 4 —
QuickBooks Tips, Tricks & FAVORITE Features
My favorite which becomes everyone’s favorite is the following sequence of key strokes:
1. Ctrl-L 2. Ctrl-E Using this sequence from just about any list field Customer Name on an Invoice or Item Code on an Invoice etc. Will allow the user to quickly see the details of the Customer or Item (or terms, payment method etc.) without leaving the window that user is in. It does not work with the Vendors List though – not sure why. Nathan Frankel, President Park Avenue Computer Consultants, Inc. Airmont, NY [email protected]
My favorite feature is the integration with Time Tracker.
With just a few clicks, I quickly download my field Consultants time, run time-based reports, pull their time into their Bills as well as auto-fill Invoices to my Clients. This was a very tedious process of re-entering their time before Time Tracker! Wayne “Dr QuickBooks” Greenfeld Wayne I Greenfeld LLC Reston VA [email protected]
My personal favorite that delights the new users all the time …
…is the different ways to change the date (you know, by using the +, -, T=today, MontH, YeaR etc...) Marc M. Poulin, CPA Poulin Financial Services, LLC, PA Portland, ME [email protected]
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QuickBooks Tips, Tricks & FAVORITE Features
My favorite feature… and all of my clients LOVE it too…
…are the “Client-Ready Payroll Reports.” Wow … I can not say enough good things about this export of payroll reports to Excel. The reports are formatted, easy to read, tabbed for reference, give both employee summary and detail information, as well as taxes accrued/paid and balances, as well as other important information for management (cost comparisons). Editors note - Note that you only get these reports with an Enhanced Payroll for Accountant Subscription and QuickBooks version 2007 or higher. LeAnn M. Andrews, CPA Chico, CA [email protected]
One of my favorites is the ability to epay the payroll taxes…
… and being able to setup the payroll liabilities. This is a nice feature when your clients want to be able to pay their own taxes. Christine Bailey Small Office Solutions Daphne, AL [email protected]
I think it’s cool how well QuickBooks Integrates with Microsoft Word.
Using the Layout Designer only goes so far for customizing QuickBooks forms. Using QuickBooks data fields and Word functionality gives me the ultimate combo for high-impact branded communications. Dante Layton Dante Layton, Inc. Pasadena, CA [email protected]
It never fails to impress my clients…
…when I show them the advanced features of exporting reports to Excel. The Auto-outline always gets a “Wow.” The Sort feature does not get quite the same reaction, but definitely provides a useful feature when exporting lists of sales, or inventory reports. Pat Carson Carson & Crew San Jose, CA [email protected] — 6 —
QuickBooks Tips, Tricks & FAVORITE Features
One of the things that is very little but never ceases to amaze people…
… is that they can press the letter T in a date field and get to “Today”. Or use letters like M/H or Y/R to go forward and back through months and years. Caren Schwartz Time & Cents Consultants, LLC Southport CT [email protected]
I find it amazing to start with a Sales Order (single entry)…
…and you can crank out an invoice, purchase order and, from the po, the bill. Time saving and efficient. Christine Galli, Accounting Resource, LLC Farmington Hill, MI [email protected]
One of the coolest things is importing credit card transactions.
I would say this saves me time, but I have so much fun doing it I may check too often when transactions are not there. This is really a great time saver! David W. Aucoin, CPA Kenner, LA [email protected]
Ctrl-Y
Accountants love this every time I show it during a seminar; you get to see the ‘behind the scenes’ or journal entry of any QB transaction; it’s a hotkey for running a Transaction Journal. ‘T’ for today in date fields, or any of the date hotkeys – invariably, this gets lots of oohs and ahhs when I show it to clients or in a seminar F2 – shows crucial QB information. Mario Nowogrodski, CPA.CITP Mendelson Consulting, Inc South Florida, FL [email protected] — 7 —
QuickBooks Tips, Tricks & FAVORITE Features
Did you know that the QuickBooks interface is simple, and remains almost unchanged?
You can learn from the videos and use it yourself, reduce the costs of “highly qualified” staff since a BS in Accounting isn’t needed to be effective, and see the same interface as you migrate from the entry-level sub-$100 software all the way to the Enterprise level multi-thousand dollar software. Hart Singh QBPro-fessor, LLC Livingston, NJ [email protected]
Here are two of my favorites:
The memorized feature: I tell trainees/clients to think through something once, then memorize it. I set up a new section of the memorized reports list named “David’s Special Reports” to put the reports that David wants to see. They love the “view” feature. The pop-up calculator: the calculator that pops up when you are on an amount cell by hitting a calculator function key (-+/*) then clicking enter puts the result in that field. Paula A. White, CPA Encinitas, CA [email protected]
Accountant’s Copy 2008…
…now allows substantially more activity and even highlights what changes will be transferred back to the client’s file. Before 2008, we were extremely limited in what we could do in an Accountant’s Copy. Now it’s a whole new ballgame. The most impressive addition is the shading of fields on the screen. In 2008, the accountant knows that if they enter data in a shaded field, it will transfer…and if it’s not a shaded field, then it won’t. All the guesswork is now eliminated. Liz Alexander, CPA Arlington, TX [email protected]
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QuickBooks Tips, Tricks & FAVORITE Features
It is very cool to have a management meeting…
…and show the financials with drill down capabilities. A P&L for a monthly or quarterly time slice, then expanded or collapsed. Any questions and be answered immediately with the drill down capability. Bruce Andersen, MBA, MS(Tax), CPA BTA Consulting and Training Woodland Hills, CA [email protected]
I love the Loan Manager!
My clients that have car notes or bank loans love this feature because they don’t have to figure out principal/interest each month. Stacy Kildal Kildal Services, LLC Waterford, MI [email protected]
I like the Financial Statement Designer
(Even though it is not in all versions). The ability to make the financials look like you want rather than out of the box, along with the ability to drill down to transactions and merge accounts. I think this is a great tool and it is very underutilized. David Maher, PB GG Technologies Cookeville, TN [email protected]
Working too hard and have too many windows open within QuickBooks?
Snap all of them shut in a hurry - in the menu bar, click Window, then Close All. QuickBooks will instantly close all open windows (and ask you to save any transactions in process). For more tips: http://www.betterbottomline.com/archives.html Scott Gregory, CPA Bottom Line Accounting Solutions, LLC Willoughby Hills, OH [email protected] — 9 —
QuickBooks Tips, Tricks & FAVORITE Features
Entering Debit Card Purchases into QuickBooks
A question my clients ask me often is “how do I enter debit card purchase into my QuickBooks file?” What is stumping them is that on the Write Checks screen, what do they put in the check # field? The initial reaction of some clients is to put the reference # or approval # from their debit card receipt in that field. NO NO NO! Don’t do that - not only is it a giant waste of time typing in all those #’s but it will make reconciling your account (you do reconcile, right?) a nightmare!
When entering items into your bank accounts (checking, savings, etc) the check # field above (the field next to “No.”) can be used very effectively if you develop and use a concise list of codes for the different types of transactions that you have. Here is the list of codes that I use for my own books and all my clients’ books: (the actual check # used) = check DC = debit card purchase DD = direct deposit transactions (direct deposit paychecks to your employees, etc). EFT = electronic funds transfer (items that come out of your bank account either electronically, automatically, or both). Examples of this would be electronic payments of payroll taxes, bank fees, automatic telephone or utility payments, etc. BP = bill payments made with online banking TX = a transfer between bank accounts if the receiving bank account is not a bank account that is tracked in your QB file. To record a transfer between bank accounts in the same QB file us the Transfer Funds function located under the banking menu. An example of when you would use the TX code would be when the owner of a sole-prop or a shareholder of an S-Corp transferred funds from the company bank account to their personal account. The actual transaction occurred with a transfer of funds online or via the phone. Use of the code “TX” will help track that. Continued on page 11 — 10 —
QuickBooks Tips, Tricks & FAVORITE Features
WD = a withdrawal from the bank account. Use this code when in-branch withdrawals are made or the bank makes an adjustment to your account. ATM = an ATM withdrawal from the bank account. Use this code when monies are withdrawn from the account via the ATM machine. ADJ = an adjustment that you make to your bank balance. This code should not be used very often, if at all! The codes above ARE case-sensitive in that you need to be consistent. Either use all caps (DC) or all lower case (dc) on ALL the entries. Don’t mix using upper and lower case. Doing so will cause QB to sort your entries incorrectly in the Reconcile window. Using consistent codes will help you in reconciling in that QB will group all the like codes together in the Reconcile window by ascending date. Reconciling your account will be much easier when you can easily find the transactions in your reconcile window to match to your bank statement. Cathi Aiello Allegro Accounting, Inc. www.allegroaccounting.com
Moving an Applied Credit to a Different Invoice
You can change the invoice to which a credit was applied. This task requires several steps, but if you follow the instructions a step at a time, it’s not as complicated as it seems. • Open the invoice to which you applied the credit. • Click the History button at the top of the transaction window to display the list of all transactions linked to this invoice. • Click the listing for the credit you want to change, and click Go To, to open the original credit transaction. • Change the customer name to another customer. It doesn’t matter which customer you choose because you’re going to change it back (I’ve always had a customer named House to use for occasions like this and for other “tests” I want to run). • Click Yes in any warning dialogs QuickBooks displays about the results of making this change. Now you’ve destroyed the link between the credit and the invoice to which it was originally applied. (QuickBooks returns you to the original invoice window, where the credit no longer appears in the History dialog.) • Open the credit transaction you just moved to another customer. (You can select the credit from the other customer’s history by selecting the customer in the Customer Center and displaying transactions.) • In the Create Credit Memos transaction window, change the customer name back to the original customer name. • When you save the transaction, QuickBooks offers choices for applying this credit. Choose the right invoice.
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QuickBooks Tips, Tricks & FAVORITE Features
Applying Additional Credits to a Vendor Bill After Paying the Bill
After entering a credit and applying it to a vendor’s bill, you create the check in the Pay Bills transaction window. Then you realize you need to add more credits to the bill. After voiding the check, the credit already applied to the bill disappears, and it seems as if you can’t apply it. What’s going on? When you create a credit for a vendor, and then use the Pay Bills window to apply the credit, the resulting check is for the net amount. For example, if the original bill is $1000.00, and you apply a credit of $100.00, the check amount is $900.00 after you use the Set Credits feature to apply the credit you created. To add more credits after you void the check, open the Enter Bills window, select the Credit option at the top of the window, and enter another credit for this vendor (for this example, $100.00). You’ve now applied a total of $200.00 credits to this vendor, and the vendor had originally submitted a bill of $1000.00, so you should only have to pay the vendor $800.00. When you open the Pay Bills window, the bill listing that appears for this vendor is for $900.00, not the original $1000.00. That first $100.00 credit has been “absorbed” into the current balance due. If you select the bill’s listing and click Set Credits, you’ll see the second $100.00 credit you created. The window also displays the bill’s “history” the original amount, the first credit, and the current balance due. The current balance due should equal the original amount less the original credit that was applied. Just apply the second credit to change the new balance due. The net amount of the check will be mathematically correct – you just don’t see the individual listing for the credit you originally applied, because it’s been taken into account for this bill. If you really want to start over and enter all the available credits just before paying the original bill, you could void the original credit transaction after voiding the check. But that’s extra work, and unnecessary, because QuickBooks is tracking the net amounts. (If you select the Vendor’s listing in the Vendor Center you see a list of all the transactions, including the bill, the original credit, and the additional credits.)
Invoice Postings
To see which accounts received postings from an invoice, open the invoice and press Ctrl-Y to open a transaction journal that displays the account postings for every line in the invoice as well as sales tax. If you’re using Premier Accountant Edition, there’s an icon named Journal on the invoice window that does the same thing. Editors Note: The previous three tips are reprinted here with express permissions from www.cpa911.com, a QuickBooks information site maintained by CPA911 Publishing, LLC, publisher of Running QuickBooks in Nonprofits and Running QuickBooks Premier Editions. We thank Kathy for her generosity in sharing these tips with us. J
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QuickBooks Tips, Tricks & FAVORITE Features
My tip is about teaching QuickBooks to my clients:
When I teach QuickBooks, I always start with the tool bar from left to right and go through each menu item. For example I start with File - the first item under “File” is “New Company”, so I explain to my students when and why you would want to start a new company file versus using/keeping the current one. Then I do the same with Open, Restore, Backup. I teach how important it is to make back ups and give examples of clients that did not make backup and how devastating it was for them when they lost all of their data and hard work. Then I go into how restoring is just the opposite of backing up, and show them the actual steps, etc. I do this with each menu item including the preferences. These seem to work well as it gives the student a quick overview of all of the features and functionality in the program and how to access them. I then share with them the shortcuts, icons, navigators, etc. and explain to them that I teach from the toolbar because they may end up on a computer that doesn’t have the shortcut icons on the tool bar. I then walk them through the Easy Step Interview, which makes a little more sense to them at this point, since they now have seen where everything is and how they answer the questions in the interview will affect the way the program works for them. Sharon Vetsch The QuickBooks Queen Oak Lawn, IL [email protected]
My clients love that QuickBooks helps with the computation…
…by bringing down the unallocated amounts on the splits and that the previously used accounts appear with the “remember the last transaction” feature turned on. Another very simple feature is that the calculator can be engaged in any numerical field, just by using an operator key - this they are always surprised and excited about when I show them. Sometimes it’s the little things that make life simple! Elissa A Greeley ADOS Consulting, LLC San Jose, CA [email protected]
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QuickBooks Tips, Tricks & FAVORITE Features
Job Cost Reports, where do they come from?
Most accountants understand that the key financial statements come from the chart of accounts. Sometimes it is difficult to explain to people that when you are talking about job-cost reports, that the item list is really your “chart of accounts”. I find the attached “QuickBooks Blueprint” to be especially helpful in explaining this to contractors. It shows that the Job Cost reports are driven off the item list, while the balance sheet and income statements are driven off the chart of accounts.
QuickBooks Blueprint
Account|Customer/Job|Class
PAYCHECK
PAYROLL ITEM
BALANCE SHEET
ACCOUNT
TIMESHEET
ITEMS:
SERVICE NON-INVENTORY OTHER CHARGE SUB-TOTAL GROUP DISCOUNT PAYMENT SALES TAX SALES TAX GROUP INVENTORY
PROFIT &
ACCOUNT
LOSS OR INCOME STATEMENT
INVOICE
ITEM
CHART OF ACCOUNTS GENERAL LEDGER
MANY OTHER REPORTS
ITEM CHECK BILL ACCOUNT P.O.
Job Cost Reports
DEPOSIT
LISTS: VENDORS, EMPLOYEES, CUSTOMERS:JOBS(PROJECTS), CLASS
1997 E arle M cE wen M .A cc., C PA
Foreign Language Financial Statements:
Over the years I have worked with businesses that have owners that speak Spanish and have limited English skills. Did you know that you can put the account names in Spanish in the description box for each account and then go to preferences:reports and graphs:company preferences and check the button that says “Reports – Show Accounts by: description only and you will get a financial statement in Spanish! This is really cool!
Where are the debits and credits?
One of the most useful tips I have ever learned about QuickBooks is that on any document or transaction if you press Control-Y it will, show you the debits and credits behind the transaction. This is especially useful in trying to understand what is happening with things like inventory builds and invoices. Try it . .it is fantastic.
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QuickBooks Tips, Tricks & FAVORITE Features
Reconciling the Inventory Valuation Summary to the Inventory Account on the Balance Sheet:
Problem: The inventory account or accounts on the balance sheet do not agree with the inventory valuation per the Inventory Valuation Summary Report. This is a particularly challenging problem to resolve because there are so many things that might cause this problem. Here are the steps I follow to reconcile the Valuation Report to the Balance Sheet. 1) Double click on the inventory accounts in the balance sheet. Verify you are looking at accrual basis balance sheet for the entire period in question. Go to modify report and add the field “item” to the displayed fields in the report. Now review each line looking for transactions without items. Usually these are journal entries but they can also be bills. Transactions without items must not be posted to the inventory account because a transaction without an item does not affect the Inventory Valuation Summary Report. 2) Review the item list for inactive items that have quantities on hand. These should be reactivated so they will appear in the valuation summary. 3) Review each inventory adjustment transaction to be sure that an inventory account was not used in place of the cost of goods or an expense account in the adjustment account field. When this happens the item is adjusted off the Inventory Valuation Summary but is not removed from the inventory account in the General Ledger. 4) Review the item list account assignments to be sure that every inventory item type has the inventory account or accounts as its asset account and that this inventory account is not used in any other account fields. 5) Resort the item list. 6) Verify and then rebuild the company file. 7) Call QB Tech support if the above steps do not solve the problem. Editors note: The previous four tips were submitted by Earle McEwen – we thank him for being an over achiever. Earle McEwen, MACC CPA Boise, ID [email protected]
One of my favorite features is the “History” button…
…which lets you quickly trace a transaction back to several source documents. This is very helpful when I’m trouble shooting client problems. Hal Rosen, CPA Salt Lake City, UT [email protected]
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QuickBooks Tips, Tricks & FAVORITE Features
Tips for Cleaning Up Data Files:
• You may or may not know that when you cleaned up your company data in QuickBooks 05 and prior (through archive & condense) that the data file actually got smaller and therefore faster. • With the advent of QuickBooks 06 using an SQL database, the file size got larger, but operated more more efficiently. • If you try to clean up your company data in QuickBooks 06 or later, you may notice that file size does not decrease, in fact it may get larger! • The trick to keep your file as compact as possible, after you “clean up” your company data – create a portable company file. o Restore that portable company file. Note: it is a good idea to create and restore a portable company file on a regular basis to keep the file whole and healthy! MB Raimondi, CPA Trumbull, CT [email protected]
My coolest feature is Time entry in QuickBooks.
(Time sheets, Single entry, and even the QuickBooks Timer) It just saves so much time and effort and replaces so many spreadsheet hours! Mainly because it provides automated cost allocation with the payroll and vendor payments. But it also allows other employees to do the data entry relieving the bookkeeper of this responsibility (if they wish) and also because it provides meaningful information for my clients to manage their employees – more than they thought they were getting when they hired an “accountant”. Time sheets make me a hero at least once a week! Anna Sheets Accounting Made Simple Valparaiso, IN [email protected]
I think the most important change that really improved QuickBooks was the online banking.
If used properly it can save much time with complicated bank reconciliations. James C. Cavalaris, CPA Coral Gables, FL [email protected] — 16 —
QuickBooks Tips, Tricks & FAVORITE Features
Recording Payroll Processed by Outside Payroll Service
When payroll is processed by an outside payroll service, clients often need help with how to record the payroll in QuickBooks. This is an easy, familiar method for clients to enter the payroll—by writing a check.
• The check amount should be total net pay – it should match the amount withdrawn from checking. Enter gross wages (use multiple lines to allocate it to different accounts) • Enter the company’s payroll tax expense—FICA, Medicare, FUTA, & SUI • Enter the amount withdrawn from checking for payroll taxes as a negative amount with ‘checking’ as the account. • NOTE: If net pay and payroll taxes are withdrawn in one total amount, then the check amount should match the amount withdrawn from checking. If this is the case, do not enter payroll taxes withdrawn as a separate amount from checking in the expenses section. The goal is to match the actual amounts withdrawn from checking to make the bank reconciliation easy! Michelle L. Long, CPA, MBA M. Long Consulting, LLC [email protected] www.mlongconsulting.com Author of: Successful QuickBooks Consulting
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QuickBooks Tips, Tricks & FAVORITE Features
When You Have Accounts Receivable or Accounts Payable Balance on a Cash Basis Balance Sheet
So why exactly do you have an account’s receivable or payable balance on a QuickBooks cash basis balance sheet? Any of the following can be the cause: • A/P transactions have expenses or items posting to other balance sheet accounts. • Inventory items on an invoice or credit memo (typically inventory management should be done only in accrual basis reporting). • Transfers between balance sheet accounts. • Unapplied accounts payable vendor payments. • Unapplied accounts receivable customer payments. • Payments applied to future-dated vendor bills. • Customer payments applied to future-dated invoices. • Preferences that contradict each other. (This can happen if you selected cash basis on your summary reports, but accrual basis as your sales tax preference.) • Data corruption. To confirm this problem, select File, Utilities, and choose Verify Data. Now that we know what some of the causes are, let’s create a report to identify the individual transactions that make up this balance: 1. Click Reports, Company & Financial and select Balance Sheet Standard. See Figure 1.
Figure 1 Cash basis balance sheet with accounts payable balance. Continued on page 19 — 18 —
QuickBooks Tips, Tricks & FAVORITE Features
2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Select an As of date. If your Balance Sheet is not currently prepared in a Cash Basis (top left in Figure 1) on the report dialog, click the Modify Report button. The Display dialog opens, in the Report Basis pane select the Cash option, and then click OK to return to the report. With your cursor double-click the Accounts Payable (or Accounts Receivable) amount in question to open the Transactions by Account report. On the report dialog click the Modify Report button. The Display dialog opens, in the Report/Date Range pane remove the From date (leave it blank) and leave the To date as it defaulted (See Figure 2.) Click the Advanced button (lower right).
Figure 2 Remove the From date and click the Advanced button to filter the report for transaction status as of a specific date in the past. 9. 10. 11. Select the Report Date option from the Open Balance / Aging pane as shown in Figure 2 and then click OK to return to the display dialog. Click on the Filters tab, from the Choose Filters pane scroll down to select Paid Status and select the Open option for paid status. Click OK to return to the report and to look for transactions that fall into any of the categories described earlier. The Transactions by Account report (see Figure 3) shows several inventory transactions, one of the causes of accounts payable showing on a cash basis balance sheet.
Figure 3 The modified report identifies the individual transactions that are included in the accounts payable balance showing on a cash basis balance sheet. Continued on page 20 — 19 —
QuickBooks Tips, Tricks & FAVORITE Features
After reviewing the individual transactions you can identify the accounts that need to be adjusted to clear the Accounts Receivable or Accounts Payable balances on a cash basis prepared Balance Sheet. Did you know that you can also download this report to share with your clients? Go to www.quickbooksgroup.com and select “QB Library” on the left, and choose “Reports” and look under the “More Reports” section. This tip is brought to you by: Laura Madeira Owner, ACS, Inc. www.quick-training.com Author of QuickBooks Solutions Guide, for Business Owners and Accountants to be published November, 2007 by QUE Publishing.
My vote goes to the Open Windows List.
It takes up more real estate than it needs to but it’s a constant reminder to the client to use what’s open before recreating the wheel. Joe Limmer, MBA, ABA JCL Accounting Services, LLC St. Louis, MO [email protected]
I have two –
One that we CPAs love when used properly - the ability to go back as far as we wish to make changes (for the new clients that come aboard that have never had their books in order) and the ability to lock out the ability to make changes (but the flexibility to still make changes when we really need to) and that the use and value of this feature varies from client to client - but at least it is there. Then # 2 - The ability to merge names when nearly the same one has been set up over and over and over whether in the Chart of Accounts, Vendors, Customers or Items. This eliminates reclassifying journal entries and allows business owners to have their books orderly without showing all of the accounts that had to be merged or names that were not needed (i.e., the mistakes that were made because they weren’t working with a ProAdvisor!) Diana Crawford, CPA Crawford, Merritt & Company Snellville, GA [email protected]
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